The Dragon Eater, page 13
part #1 of The Tharassas Cycle Series
Silya slipped off her shoes to step onto the ix-fur pelt in front of the tub. It was so soft. “Try it.”
He looked at her as if she were crazy.
“Seriously. Come on!”
Aik shrugged and pulled off his boots. He stepped onto the rug next to her. “You’re right. It’s nice.” He closed his eyes and curled his toes, sighing. “But can we get to Raven’s things?” He looked over his shoulder as if he expected to find the little thief there, tapping his foot expectantly.
Raven can wait. “One more thing.” She took his hand and pulled him, barefoot and protesting, out onto the wide balcony looking out over the hencha gathering below.
“Are you sure? Someone might see me.” He looked over the railing nervously.
“You’re the guest of the Hencha Queen.” She’d be damned if she was going to let the Temple bend her to protocol.
It was late morning, and the sun was warm on her skin. The breeze teased her hair, the air still fresh off the Harkness. To the north, the peaks of Heaven’s Reach loomed over Gullton. The Eagle and Peregrine Spines between were quiet — the fires started in the aftermath of the quake had been put out, and while there was still a hint of acrid smoke in the air, the wind had already cleared the worst of it from the city.
Sunlight glittered off the waters of the Elsp as they rushed down from the Highlands, through the Heartland, and finally past Gullton and out to sea.
Aik whistled. “It’s beautiful.”
“Look.” She pointed at the hencha gathering below the balcony. The plants were moving in synch, dancing to a silent song.
“What are they doing?” Aik leaned over the railing to stare at the field.
“I don’t know. It started a couple hours ago.”
An initiate saw them and pointed up at him, tapping one of the others on her shoulder. Coral? It was hard to tell from up here. More rumors to go around. She should have kept him inside.
“Is it because of you?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure? Sister Dor said it didn’t happen the last time a Queen was chosen.” She watched the patterns, mesmerized. The field shifted, strange shapes darting across it as the leaves moved in symphony, like a picture she could almost understand if she just stared at it long enough.
“What do they hear?” Aik’s voice held a hint of wonder.
“No one knows.” The hencha were as closed to her as they were to him. Silya gripped the railing tightly, wondering why they had chosen her. And why the hencha mind was quiet now.
Aik grinned. “Can’t you find out?”
“It’s not that simple.” She looked away, embarrassed to admit her failing. “The hencha … they’re gone.” It hurt to admit it, even to Aik.
“What do you mean, gone?” His voice held no judgment.
Silya was grateful for that. “They’re not speaking to me. I don’t feel them in my head anymore. I don’t feel any of it.” She’d been wrong. It actually felt good to say it to Aik, who wouldn’t look down on her for it. Who wouldn’t think she didn’t deserve to be here.
He met her gaze, and for a minute she thought he was pitying her.
Silya bit her lip, turning away. “I shouldn’t have told you —”
He grasped her hand, pulling her gently back. “It’s not gone.”
It was her turn to stare at him. “What?”
Aik touched her cheek, his fingers slipping behind her ear, their shared intimacy returning like it had never left. “You haven’t lost it. You’re just too stressed to feel it.”
His touch brought up a cartload of old feelings, bitter and brittle with age and second guessing. She brushed his hand away again, more gently this time. “You have to stop doing that. We’re not lovers anymore.”
He blushed and turned away to look out at the hencha again. “Sorry.”
She still loved him, after a fashion. “You’re always going to take care of me, whether I need it or not, aren’t you?”
Aik chuckled ruefully. “Probably.”
Silya squeezed his hand. “Thank you for that.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Does that mean you’re not mad at me anymore?”
“No, I’m not.” The answer surprised her, but it was true. Maybe the hencha were still with her, because she felt an unexpected empathy for his position.
“That’s good.” He closed his eyes. “Try it now.”
“This isn’t going to change anything …”
“You won’t know until you try.” A hint of a smile ghosted his lips, but he kept his gaze firmly on the scene below.
Damn you. Silya closed her eyes too. She took a deep breath and reached for her newfound connection to the hencha.
It had eluded her before, but maybe Aik was right. Maybe she’d been too preoccupied with everything — the events of the night before, Aik’s sudden reappearance, all the Temple protocol Sister Dor had thrown at her.
She felt inside her head for the hencha mind, for that link with the sacred that she’d touched only a handful of times.
Her mind was as empty as a gully bird’s. “It’s not working.”
She felt his warm hands on her shoulders. “Breathe in deep. Relax. Let them find you.”
She gave it a try. In, out. In, out. Her breath filled her lungs, and her body relaxed.
Then she felt it.
There you are. A tight knot of flame in the back of her mind. She touched it, and it spread through her like a brush fire.
“Wow. That’s … amazing.” Aik’s voice was somewhere between appreciative and scared witless.
Silya opened her eyes to find him staring at her again. Her arms were on fire, but she felt no warmth from the flames. The ancient consciousness of the hencha filled her again, bringing with it a gravity and depth that made her own limited human existence seem pale by comparison. “It worked!”
“Looks like it.”
“Aik, you’re a genius.” She took his face between her hands and kissed him before she realized what she was doing. She drew back, flushing hot. “Sorry.”
Aik snorted. “Guess we both need to work on boundaries.”
Silya laughed. “Guess so.”
Inside her head, the hencha expressed their own amusement at such human foibles. Silya experienced a strange sense of double vision, sensing the world on her own and through their broader senses. She was here, on the balcony with Aik, but she was a hundred other places too, wherever there were enough hencha to form a gathering. In the field below the Temple, across the Elsp in farms across the Heartland, and in places she’d never seen or dreamed of before.
Aik reached out to touch her arm, startling her back to the present. “It doesn’t hurt?” The flames burned right through his fingers, but he seemed unharmed.
“What?” It was like waking from a dream. “Oh. No. I feel energized. Sister Dor says I can make the flames burn hot if I want to. Somehow.” So much to learn.
“Why are they blue? I thought they usually burned black.”
“I don’t know.” She looked out at the gathering below through the Hencha Queen’s eyes. She could hear it now, the hencha song — thin and reedy at first, but slowly growing. It was music of a sort. Discordant, like a thousand theolins playing similar songs. Not a thousand. A hundred thousand or more. All of them. How old are you?
As old as the song. The voice sounded wise but amused, and Silya felt like a child before it.
She could feel them too, the gathered hencha below and the ones across the Heartland and beyond. All connected in a vast, unseen web, linked to her. Am I worthy?
The affirmation crashed over her like an ocean wave. You were chosen.
Warmth filled her. She took Aik’s hand. “Can you hear it?” As she listened, the melodies merged, the off notes dropping out.
“Hear what?”
Fire ran from her hand up his arm.
Aik stiffened. “I … yes. I can now. It’s beautiful. Haunting, even.”
The music swelled inside her. It was lovely, but painful too. The discord didn’t disappear. Instead, it became a sour undercurrent, a cross-stream that undercut the joy of the main melody. It told a long story of life and pain, of triumphs gained and battles lost that spanned an amount of time that left her feeling as small and insignificant as an inthym.
At the same time, she felt whole for the first time, full of life. It’s your history.
A small part of it, yes.
Silya took that in. How long had the hencha been self-aware?
Aik squeezed her hand, bringing her out of her reverie. She opened her eyes, and the song faded away.
He was shaking, his mouth foaming and his eyes squeezed shut like a demon possessed him.
“Aik!” The Hencha Queen’s presence faded, and Silya’s flames extinguished.
His body went limp and fell to the ceramic tiled floor of the terrace with a heavy thud.
Sweet mother of Jas, I broke him. Silya’s healer training kicked in.
She ducked inside the suite, grabbed a cushion, and dampened a washcloth. She returned and rolled him on his side so he wouldn’t choke on his own tongue. She slipped the cushion under his head and wiped the spittle from his mouth. His arms and legs were still twitching.
What did I do to you? Reality slammed into her hard. She was no longer Silya, the lowly initiate. She was the Hencha Queen, and what she did could hurt people, even the ones she loved. She covered her mouth, holding back a sob. Keep it together, Sil. Like Tri’Aya.
She checked his pulse and his breathing — both were still strong. If it’s a seizure, it will pass.
His jerking movements slowed, and then finally stopped, and his breathing became more even.
She sat with him, her back to the terrace wall, squeezing his hand while the breeze played across her face. She still wasn’t sure what she had done. Maybe the Hencha Queen’s touch was too strong for anyone but her.
You were chosen.
Aik’s eyes opened. He rolled over onto his back and looked up at her. “Sil?” He sounded groggy. “What happened?”
“You had a seizure and fell.” She cupped his cheek in her palms, damn the consequences. He would always be her Aik, even if they weren’t together. “Are you all right?”
His hand went to his forehead. “I think so. I have a godsall strong headache, though. What did you do to me?”
“I shared the hencha song with you. Do you remember —”
“Yes. It was beautiful.” He sat up, feeling the back of his head. “I’m gonna have a gully-bird egg there tomorrow.”
“Have you ever had a seizure before?”
Aik blinked. “I think I’d remember something like this.” He shook his head like a dog.
“You sure you’re not hurt?”
“Yes. I’m fine, aside from feeling tired and having a pounding headache.”
Silya let go of his hand, and the tight knot of worry in her chest loosened just a little. “Wait here, and I’ll mix you up some fellin powder to drink.”
She poured some water from the pitcher on the table into an empty glass and retrieved her pouch from the bedroom. The leather was worn and faded, but familiar. Sister Dor would probably want to replace it with something more befitting of the Hencha Queen. Let her try. “Here you go.”
“Thank you.” Aik wrinkled his nose but downed it completely without complaint. “You never did show me Raven’s things.”
Silya shook her head. “You two deserve each other. You’re as like-minded as a pair of jexyn. Come on. I’ll show you.” She helped him up.
He was wobbly on his feet, so she supported him and led him back inside, to the enormous closet at the back of the bedroom where Raven’s possessions had been stored at her insistence. An electric lamp lit the room in bright white glow.
“They’re planning to electrify the Guardhouse next year.” Aik stared at the seemingly magical light wistfully.
“So much better than the candles and gas lanterns we used in the dorms.” She looked around the closet, which was larger than her old, shared room.
The rumpled burlap of Raven’s sacks looked woefully out of place against the soft, rich brown plush carpeting of the closet. Half the space was empty — the Hencha Queen’s blue robes had all been taken out for cleaning and resizing. They’d probably been hanging there gathering dust for a decade, since Yen’Ela had died from extreme old age. “It’s all there. I wouldn’t let them touch them until I talked with Raven.”
Aik put out a hand against the wall to steady himself. “He’ll be glad to hear it. I should go —”
Silya’s brow furrowed. “You’re in no condition to go anywhere.” She really had knocked the wind out of his sails. I’ll have to be more careful next time.
He yawned and rubbed the back of his head. “No, I’m just tired. It was a long night.”
“Damn you.” She yawned. “Sister Dor told me to get some rest.” She squeezed his shoulder. “All of this will still be here when we wake up.”
Aik glanced over his shoulder. “I need to at least get word to Raven. He was so worried.”
“I’ll send someone to tell him.” She went to her front door and leaned out to give instructions to the sister standing guard.
“Yes, mim.” The woman saluted her.
“Thank you.” She closed the door, rolling her eyes at the formality. Is this how it’s going to be from now on?
She found Aik by the bed, staring at it as if he’d never seen one before. “Done.”
He smiled gratefully. “But where will I sleep?”
Silya looked at the wide bed, and then back at the man who had once been hers. “You’re welcome to share it with me. Just … keep your distance.” It would be good to have him here in this strange new place. “It’s a huge bed. You take one side, I’ll take the other.”
Aik stared at her, his brow knitted. “You sure? After … everything?”
“Oh for the Gods’ sakes, you think that still bothers me?” It very much did, but she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing it. They were turning over a new leaf together, after all. Just friends.
“All right. Separate sides.” He pulled off his boots and trousers, and then his shirt.
Silya looked away. He’s not mine. Not anymore.
She closed the shutters, then turned off all the lamps in the suite one by one, except for the ornate silver one by her bedside. Then she slipped out of her robe, too tired to care if he was watching. “Thank you for coming.”
He had the grace to blush. “Thank you for not throwing me out.”
“You’re welcome.” I am tired. Exhausted, really. She slipped under the covers and turned off the last lamp, feeling the mattress shift as he climbed into bed beside her.
He kept his word and stayed far away from her, like he’d promised.
So why was she so sad?
10
Knife to the Gut
Sorix paced the gathering hall, her diamond-sharp claws flicking sand at the walls, a sign of her disquiet. Kalix watched her warily from the entrance, silhouetted against the green sky, slick with mist from the waterfall that eclipsed half the great cavern’s entrance.
How can you not worry? It had been hard enough to give up one of their eggs, sending their poor kit off to become … something new. But the waiting …
One of the otherlings — she stopped to squint at it — strode across the sand, baring its teeth at her. She avoided showing her own in response — Kalix had assured her that it was not a gesture of aggression from the smaller species.
She was still dubious about the whole experiment. Why do we have to have them here?
They are part of the world now. We need each other. Kalix blinked at her, lifting a claw to pick a bit of aur meat out from between his teeth.
They don’t belong here.
If it had been up to her, they would have gone it alone against the deathbringer. What did it matter to her what happened to the squishy pink otherlings?
But Kalix had been insistent. They must all work together to face the resurgent threat.
Flyx and Aryx bounded across the sand, barreling into her and making her forget — if only for a moment — all of her worries.
Hungry hungry hungry!
Calm down. You’ll eat soon enough.
Kalix huffed, and turned around to go.
One of her three stomachs rumbled. Bring me a fresh ix. I’ll be hungry enough soon.
Kalix hunched his shoulders in agreement, then spread his wings and with a running start, leapt off the ledge to soar over the valley below.
She nudged her two kits back into the tunnel to their own home, and soon they were snuggled up together there, her kits sucking contentedly on her nipples. Still, one was empty.
Come back to me.
Though he wouldn’t really be hers anymore.
• • •
Trapped like a caged eircat. Raven paced across the cool stone tiles in the confines of the room, pausing every few circuits to scowl at the locked door. His chest was tight, and his fists clenched and unclenched at his side. “Spin, are you sure there’s no other way out?”
“Not unless you can shrink yourself down to hamster size to fit through the floor vent.”
Hamster? “Not helpful.” He’d killed an hour throwing stones, watching their eight symbols come up in assorted patterns. Eventually he’d abandoned the game — it was a lot less fun when there was no money involved — and had tucked them back into the leather pouch at his belt. At least they hadn’t taken that from him.
He’d considered — more than once — ramming his body against the heavy wooden door. But he didn’t have Aik’s heft, and it looked very sturdy. Why won’t you let me out?
His nostrils flared. Everything smelled weird — even his bed linens emitted a strange odor from across the room. His forearms itched too, but he didn’t dare to look at them.
Aik still hadn’t come back.
